A utility terrain vehicle drove off the roadway and struck a tree, leaving both occupants deceased, near West Dressel Road and Douglas Avenue in unincorporated Antioch Tuesday evening. | Photo Submitted to Lake and McHenry County Scanner

A man and a woman were both killed after a utility terrain vehicle crashed head-on into a large tree near Antioch Tuesday evening, the sheriff’s office said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Antioch Fire Department responded around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday to the area of West Dressel Road and Douglas Avenue in unincorporated Antioch for a crash with injuries.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived and located a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) with major damage, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.

A preliminary investigation showed a 56-year-old Antioch man was driving the UTV.

A utility terrain vehicle drove off the roadway and struck a tree, leaving both occupants deceased, near West Dressel Road and Douglas Avenue in unincorporated Antioch Tuesday evening. | Photo: Remi Merrill

The UTV was traveling westbound on Dressel Road just west of Douglas Avenue, Covelli said.

For an unknown reason, the driver veered off the south side of the roadway and struck a large tree.

A 50-year-old Antioch woman was in the front passenger seat of the UTV.

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Neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt or helmet and both were partially ejected from the vehicle, Covelli said.

A utility terrain vehicle drove off the roadway and struck a tree, leaving both occupants deceased, near West Dressel Road and Douglas Avenue in unincorporated Antioch Tuesday evening. | Photo: Remi Merrill

The driver and the passenger sustained major injuries and both were pronounced dead at the scene.

No other occupants were in the UTV besides the driver and passenger and no other vehicles were involved.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded and an autopsy on both victims is being scheduled.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.